Information, please

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Reference librarians can use the Collaborative Digital Reference Service to research patrons' questions after they've exhausted their own library's resources. The system often directs patrons to books, Web sites and other materials.

Here are some examples of queries submitted to CDRS:

* "What is the greatest number of children one mother gave birth to in the United States (over her lifetime, not in a single birth)? Patron believes that this might have been sometime in the 1940s to 1960s and that the family lived in or near Chicago."

* "Patron needs information and data on what entertainment astronauts use not only to keep performance high in space, but also as a coping mechanism for sharing close quarters with others for an extended time."

* "Patron would like any information on the manufacturers of longbows and arrows that were made in the 1930s to 1940s."

* "Patron would like to know the most recent numbers of African-American women directors, producers and actresses working in film and television."

* "Patron is seeking a reference tool that would list in a single book all the songs ever made."